Friday

Feb 7, 2020 at 8:37 AM

A Massachusetts man who used a crossbow while trying to save his neighbor from being mauled by two dogs accidentally shot and killed him instead, according to officials.

Police received calls of a mauling in progress in the town of Adams, located in the northwestern part of the state, just after noon on Wednesday, according to a press release from the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office. When officers arrived, they found two adult pit bulls "engaging in a volatile confrontation," according to the release.

The dogs turned on the officers, who shot them, according to the district attorney's office.

The officers then found a man with a fatal crossbow injury, according to the office's news release. Investigators believe a neighbor got a crossbow and shot at the dogs after first calling police. A bolt from the crossbow grazed one of the dogs, went through a door and struck a man who was trying to barricade himself in a room.

During a press conference, which was posted by local outlet WWLP-TV, Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington said the neighbor was licensed to own the crossbow.

The district attorney's office identified the man who was killed as 27-year-old Joshua Jadusingh, of Adams, Mass.

An unharmed child was found in a nearby room. The dogs had a history of being aggressive, according to the district attorney's office. Harrington said one of the dogs had previously attacked someone in the home in November 2018. The two dogs were kept in separate cages and it's unclear how they got out, Harrington said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, Harrington said. She added the neighbor is "distraught" over what happened and she doesn't anticipate criminal charges being filed against the neighbor.

By all accounts, the neighbor was just trying to be a good Samaritan, Harrington said.

"I think this was an emergency situation and, at this point, everything in the investigation indicates that the neighbor was reacting in a very stressful circumstance," she said. "Was doing what he could to neutralize the dog, to protect life."

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